The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Vehicle article carriers are used in a wide variety of applications to secure and transport various articles above an outer body surface of a vehicle. In many implementations such vehicle article carriers involve the use of one or more cross bars that are secured to support rails. The cross bars typically make use of some form of tightening mechanism that enables an end support at each end of the cross bar to be secured, typically by clamping, to one of the support rails.
Many previously developed end supports rely on the torque imparted by a user in rotationally tightening some form of know or element to apply a sufficient clamping force to securely clamp the end support to its associated cross rail. However, individuals with limited hand strength may have difficulty in sufficiently tightening the mechanism to apply a suitable tightening force. In such events it would be helpful if the cross bar end support incorporated some form of integral structure that would ensure against the cross bar end support from loosening during use. In this manner, normal road vibration that the vehicle encounters while being driven would not be sufficient to cause loosening of the end support.